What are zinc and zamak?

Zinc is a metallic element while zamak is a mixture of zinc, aluminium, magnesium and copper. Both are durable materials and easy to cast into different shapes. They are good at conducting heat and electricity. Objects made of zinc or zamak are often given a surface treatment to resemble metals like gold, brass or stainless steel. Both zinc and zamak retain their good properties when they are recycled to become new objects.